Tag Archives: involution

I’m camping this weekend — heading out tomorrow morning right after I finish leading the free tracking walk I’m doing to promote my Bobcat Martial Arts program — so this week’s T.I. comes out a day early!

As I’ve mentioned many times, I highly recommend doing a double-down day once every four to six weeks or so. Pick a recent training session that didn’t go well. Then double it and try to find a way to modify, adapt, overcome and suffer through it.

If you listen to your body and you know your limits, and if you are cautious enough to do this safely, the benefits are out-of-this-world.

Double Trouble: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #150

I don’t know what you’re going to do, because I don’t know what you selected to double! But here’s what I did. This took almost exactly 2 hours.

1. Forms. I spent a full 10 minutes running through the Star of Ishtar, the Fool’s Journey and the new Six-headed Hydra choke form, plus a quick run through a few of my favorite Korean Karate forms.

2. Double weights. Tuesday’s session was weak sauce, so I just about doubled the reps.

Like this:

In Cabal Fang we generally train for max output over a limited time. Cabal Fang is a self-defense martial art. Self-defense situations don’t usually last for more than a minute or so.

But we also want Cabal Fang to be applicable in every day life. Only cops, medics and soldiers will likely use their martial arts skills more than once or twice in a lifetime. But if Cabal Fang makes you healthy and strong inside and out, you can apply that in a million different ways, all day every day. And every day life sometimes will require you to work until you can work no more.

So once in a while we should shake things up and train for distance instead of speed — for length of time instead of for output across a span of time.

Enduro: Cabal Fang Training Involution #148

9 rounds of emergency action. Only 8 breaks of 12 secs each, one break between each of the 9 rounds. Each round you’ll go until you gas, take a 12 sec. break, then proceed to the next exercise: HBSC (Heavy Bag Shoulder Carry), Up Strikes, Bear Walks, HBSC, Mounted Strikes, Bear Walks, HBSC, Low Kicks, Bear Walks. No pacing or lollygagging on the strikes, but travel at a relaxed pace for the HBSCs and Bear Walks. 8 breaks only. My time was a fairly pathetic 20:39. Post yours in the comments. See video below.

Internal work for time. Assume your posture of choice and set a countdown timer for one hour. Practice your choice of contemplation, meditation or prayer as long as you are able — until your mind or body fails you — or until the timer beeps, whichever comes first. I made my hour. Did you?

If it’s not in your training journal it didn’t happen. Record all times and all self-realizations in your training journal.

No rep counts or time guidelines are provided except for two exercises — Burpees (40 minimum!) and the Banks Twists (30 minimum!). For our purposes I have guesstimated what seem like reasonable numbers.

Now go see if you’re as fit as little boys used to be back in the day.

>>Video at bottom if you prefer visuals.<<

Boy’s Twelve: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #146

If you get this done in under 25:56 you got me beat.

40 Burpees (no hop, no Push-up)

25 High Jumpers (a.k.a Standing Broad Jump)

25 Squat Benders (Squat, then touch toes)

25 Rowing Exercise (a.k.a. Jackknifes)

25 Sit-ups with Plough (dead stop after each Plough)

25 Push-ups (narrow)

30 Banks Twists (a.k.a. Windshield Wipers, over-back = 1)

25 Side Benders (look at the drawing and good luck!)

25 8-Count Push-ups (Burpee with 2 Push-ups and no hop)

25 Squat Jumps (Split Jump Squats w/ hands on head)

Stationary Run (100 taps of each foot)

25 Trunk Twisters (Windmills, elbow to knee, 25/side)

Here’s the spread from the book which is in the public domain. Click link to view the whole thing, it’s actually really cool.

Like this:

“Escape Plan Drill” a.k.a. “EPD” has been a fitness standard in Cabal Fang Martial Arts for many years, even before making its first appearance almost exactly four years ago.

If you haven’t done it yet, you’re in for a treat.

EPD is A+ because it shrinks to fit. You can use whatever calisthenics you like based on your needs and/or fitness level. And, since it’s an “as-many-as-you-can” type of drill, its difficulty increases with the fitness of the user.

This week’s variant uses martial-specific calisthenics. Dig it.

Escape Plan Revisited: Cabal Fang Training Involution #145

Escape Plan Drill. Set timer for 1:00 intervals. Sprint for 1:00, Shadowbox or hit Heavy Bag for 1:00 then complete as many calisthenics reps as you can for 1:00. Repeat 4 more times for a total of 15 mins, taking as few 12-count breaks as you must in order to finish. Your 5 calisthenics are: Sit-outs, Shots, Sprawls, Bear Walks, and Back Bridge. On the Back Bridges, hold or pop reps based on fitness level. This version of EPD could be called “Humility Sandwich.” Try a bite and tell me if I’m wrong about the recipe.

Hagakure Meditation. Escape is not always possible, certainly not in the end. After cooling down, set countdown timer for 10 mins., then read the paragraph below and meditate as directed. Seppuku is of course an ancient form of ritual suicide, so this is not to be read literally. Read metaphorically it contains a wise but very hard teaching. We are going to die, perhaps even by having to lay down our lives for what we value most highly. We modern people struggle with these old, hard lessons. But some things are worth the struggle.

NEXT WEEK…

Are you more fit than a 12-year-old boy circa 1945? Find out next week in Boy’s Twelve: Training Involution #146!

Like this:

Baggage: Cabal Fang Martial Arts Training Involution #144

Fill a large gym bag with whatever you can find. Use folded sheets and misc. athletic equipment for weight. Then add in some of the detritus of your pathetic existence — junk food wrappers, tasteless magazines, empty beer cans, old video games, and bits of shameful clutter from your attic or garage. And finally, throw in a handful of promises you’ve broken or things you’ve said to friends and loved ones in anger. I’m not being cute or metaphorical. Take this part seriously.

Complete 100 Bag Lifts as fast as you can. Beginners do them Cabal Fang-style, advanced, Kansas-style.

Complete 50 sieo nage as fast as you can.

Pick up the bag and cover 1-mile run as fast as you can. Run, jog, walk, doesn’t matter as long as you finish.

Make sure you warm up thoroughly before you begin and keep your heart rate within safe limits. This one’s a real humdinger. If it doesn’t trigger your vomit response, either your bag is too light or you aren’t trying hard enough.

Cool down, then wrap up with the Cross of Light ritual and 10 minutes of contemplation. The Cross of Light ritual is so packed with meaning that describing it fills a whole chapter in the Cabal Fang Study Guide. Re-read as needed.

Record your time and what you learned in your training journal, then share the less personal bits with the Cabal Fang Facebook group.

Like this:

This is a shot of me training shirtless — running sprints before doing some sledgehammer work. If my shriveled up carcass can take off his shirt then you shouldn’t be afraid to.

A few days ago I promised that this week’s T.I. would be a brobdingnagian farrago of deracination. Why ‘d I do that? To get your attention of course!

“Brobdingnagian” means “huge.” Brobingnag is the place where giants live in Gulliver’s Travels.

A “farrago” is an assortment, like a hodgepodge.

And “deracination” is a delightful mouthful that means “pulling up at the roots.”

Catch my drift?

A Farrago of Deracination: Training Involution #143

Write your own obituary. Not some stupid joke thing, but a real obituary. If it takes you less than fifteen minutes you didn’t sweat it enough. Read mine below. You are going to die. What do you want people to say about you when the day comes?

Take your shirt off and train. Gents, go outside and take off your shirt. Ladies, go as skimpy as you can — staying within safety and legal limits of course. If you have not done this month’s constitutional twice, do it once now. If you have, complete Escape Plan Drill (instructions to both below). I’ve done this twice in the last few weeks, once as low as 40F, and I can tell you that it has a profound effect on your mind, body and spirit.

What’s the point? Life is not about what you look like, or your toys, or your khakis, or any of that. Get beyond your skin, go past your comfort zone, embrace your impermanence — and go live the life you should be living.

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Escape Plan Drill

Set timer for 1:00 intervals. Sprint for 1:00, then Shadowbox for 1:00 then pick a calisthenic and do as many reps as you can for 1:00. Repeat 4 more times for a total of 15 mins, picking a new calisthenic each cycle. Record total distance covered and total calisthenics reps in your training journal and beat it next time.

MITCHELL JR., ROBERT E. (“MITCH”) aged 88, of HENRICO, passed away on Tuesday Sept. 28, 2049 at his residence. He is survived by his wife of 50 years Karen; son Robert; three daughters, Tiffany, Amber and Morgan; five grandchildren, Kota, Shunta, Audrey, Ryder and Jack Jr.; and four great-grandchildren, Zeke, Ken, Aiko, and Mary. After thirty years in Credit and Accounting Management, Mitch retired, entered seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Old Catholic line. Re-inventing himself as Father Mitch, he operated St. Barachiel’s, a local community chapel and civic center, for over 25 years. A world-renowned martial arts master and author, he was the founder of Bobcat Martial Arts, a frontier-styled martial arts club, as well as Cabal Fang Martial Arts, a non-profit martial arts organization with branches on three continents. He wrote over 50 books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and non-fiction. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Barachiel Chapel where services will be held on Saturday, Oct. 2nd at 2:00 PM, Bishop Alan Smithee presiding.